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In early summer, most parts of Japan get visited by a rainy season, the so called tsuyu (or baiyu), literally meaning "plum rain", because it coincides with the season of plums ripening.

The rainy season is caused by the collision of cold northerly and warm southerly air masses, which results in a relatively stable bad weather front over the Japanese archipelago for several weeks.

In most of Japan, the rainy season lasts from the beginning of June to mid July, while it affects the islands of Okinawa about one month earlier. Only Japan's northern most main island of Hokkaido gets barely affected by the rainy season.

The following table shows the average starting and ending dates of the rainy season for selected regions of Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency:

Region	Start	End
Okinawa	May 8	June 23
Southern Kyushu	May 29	July 13
Shikoku	June 4	July 17
Kinki (incl. Osaka, Kyoto)	June 6	July 19
Kanto (incl. Tokyo)	June 8	July 20
Northern Tohoku	June 12	July 27

During the rainy season it does not rain every day. In fact, Tokyo registers only an average of 12 rainy days in June, while 120 hours of sunshine are recorded. As for the amount of rainfall, it varies from days with intensive downpours to other days with occasional sprinkles.

Nevertheless, the rainy season is not the most suitable season for visiting Japan, even though it can have its advantages. For example, travel activity is rather low during June, which clears many popular outdoor attractions from the many visitors that are usually present.

Furthermore, some sights can be very attractive in rain, especially some temples, gardens and hot springs. All you need to enjoy traveling in the rain, is the right attitude and rain protection. Below are just a few sights, which can be very attractive during the rainy season:

	Mount Koya Rainy weather and fog make for a most atmospheric visit to the wooded temple mountain of Koyasan and Okunoin, in particular.
	Hakone The chances of viewing Mount Fuji may be low, but the lush vegetation and hydrangea flowers are double as intensive in rain than in dry weather.
	Hot Springs There is nothing more relaxing than sitting in an open air hot spring while viewing the cloudy landscape and listening to the patter of the rain.
	Hokkaido Those who prefer to escape the rain, should visit Japan's northern most main island of Hokkaido, which gets barely affected by the rainy season.

The opening of the Port of Yokohama in 1859 marked the start of Yokohama's rise from a small fishing town to Japan's most populous municipality.

Under the motto "Set Sail", Expo Y150 is celebrating the city's history and future from April 28 to September 27, 2009 with a colorful array of exhibits and shows that include a giant mechanic spider, a super high definition theater and more.

Three Areas:

The expo is divided into three areas, representing the sea, nature and the city:

The main area is the Bayside Area, which represents the sea and runs along the waterfront from Minato Mirai to Yamashita Park. It is further subdivided into three paid sites and four free sites, where most of the expo's attractions are found. The Bayside Area is open during the entire duration of Expo Y150.

Representing nature, the Hillside Area will feature several additional attractions, but it does not open until July 4. It will be located adjacent to Yokohama's zoological garden Zoorasia, somewhat outside of central Yokohama. The Mother Port Area, finally, consists of the existing city center itself with its regular historic sites and shopping districts.

Admission and Hours:

While some parts of the expo are free of charge, most of the more spectacular attractions are located in paid areas. A day pass for unlimited entry to all attractions of the Bayside Area costs 2400 yen. The pass also provides discounts for several of Yokohama's regular tourist sites, such as the Yokohama Port Museum, the observation deck of the Landmark Tower and Yokohama Cosmoworld.

The sites in the Bayside Area are open daily from 10:00 to 22:00.

Main Attractions:

Bayside Area - Hajimarinomori

The Hajimarinomori (Forest of Beginnings) Site is home to the giant metal spider, which comes to life five times per day for about 20 minutes each. A food fair and some minor attractions are also found here.

La Machine 20 minute shows held at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 19:00 15 meters tall and almost 40 tons heavy is the metal spider by the French company La Machine. Eight people control the movements of the mechanic animal, as it walks across the Hajimarinomori Site and occasionally spits water at the audience. Between shows, the spider is resting outdoors.

Yokohama Monogatari Yokohama Monogatari (The Tale of Yokohama) is a small exhibition about the history of Yokohama, everyday life in the early days and Commodore Perry who forced the opening of Japan's ports with his fleet of black ships. There is also a tiny movie theater, where historical footage of the city is shown. Unfortunately there is no English information.

Eneos Energy Future Pavilion A main sponsor of the expo, Eneos is Japan's largest oil company with two refineries in Yokohama. The Eneos Pavilion offers information on the company's history and its advances in the field of new energies. There is also a gas pump, a speaking Ichiro panel and a large satellite image of Yokohama. All the displays are in Japanese only.

Kurofune Restaurant Chinese dishes, pizza, burgers, sausages and other fast food, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available at this food fair. According to the official guide, the restaurant is supposed to evoke the days when the port was first opened to the world, but little besides its name actually does so. Kurofune refers to the black war ships with which Commodore Perry forced Japan into opening her ports.

Bayside Area - Tomorrow Park

Tomorrow Park contains the Baton movie theater hall and a stage where performances with Tanemaru, the expo's mascot, are held. In the evenings, Earth Balloon is launched and best viewed from this site.

Futuristic Theater Baton 20 minute shows every 35 minutes Chapter 1: April 28 to May 30 Chapter 2: May 31 to July 10 Chapter 3: July 11 to September 27 Baton is an animated science-fiction fantasy movie, which was produced exclusively for the Expo Y150 and features the voices of popular actors and actresses. The movie consists of three chapters, which are shown separately over the course of the expo. Unfortunately, there are no English subtitles.

Earth Balloon Home 5 minute shows at 19:25, 20:00, 20:35 and 21:10 Images and animations about environmental issues are projected onto a large balloon in the night sky, accompanied by music and sounds. Mukai Chiaki, Japan's first female astronaut, directed the show's production. The balloon measures approximately 20 meters in diameter.

Bayside Area - Nissan Y150 Dream Front & Super Hi-Vision Theater

The attractions of this site are located in a large, long, warehouse like hall on a pier. Visitors enter the hall from the back and line up to first see the high definition movie. They are then led to the Pivo Lab to watch a presentation about Nissan's future visions, before proceeding to the Kotoba Park. The whole visit takes about 30 minutes, not including eventual waiting time.

Super High Vision Theater 10 minute shows every 15-20 minutes A super clear movie of the beauties of Japan, including the Aomori's Nebuta Festival, sunflower fields in Hokkaido and children jumping from a bridge into a river in Gujo, is shown in this theater, which boasts a 540 inch screen and a 22.2 multichannel sound system.

Pivo Lab The presentation lasts about 10 minutes Nissan's Pivo Lab features an animated movie about current environmental issues and future visions centering around electric cars. An actual electric concept car, Nissan's Pivo 2, stands in the middle of the room, but does not come further into action. The movie is in Japanese only.

Kotoba Park Upon leaving the Pivo Lab, visitors enter the Kotoba Park (Word Park), where everybody is encouraged to write their own messages of consideration towards the environment onto leaf shaped pieces of paper. The leaves are then sucked into giant balloons, in which they swirl around among thousands of other visitors' messages.

5/17/2009 - 5/18/2009Toshogu Shrine Grand Festival 1,000 samurai warriors re-enact the funeral rites of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the great military leader and unifier of Japan who became the first shogun in 1603. Three portable shrines are carried from the ornate main shrine to the sacred place among the cedars called Otabisho. They are escorted by men in the armour of the period. In addition to the main event, women perform the Yaotome maiden dance and the dance of Azumaasobi and there is a demonstration of archery on horseback (yabusame). This is the full-blooded version of the Autumn Festival, and it is attended by descendants of the shogun.

Themes: History , Dance , Culture , Religion , Spectacle , Music
Hours: Parades start at 1000.
Cost: TBC.
Where: Toshogu Shrine
Close to the main railway station in Nikko
Nikko, Japan

Contact Information:

Nikko Tourist Association
591 Gokomachi
Nikko
Tochigi
321 1404
Japan
Telephone: +8 (0)288 542 496.

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The number three in Japanense is “san” and the Sanja Matsuri is a festival that honors the three men who founded the Asakusa Shrine in Tokyo. Two of the men were said to have found a Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) statuette caught in their fishing net around this time in the year 628. A wealthy man heard about the discovery and used the opportunity to share a Buddhist sermon with the two men. The two men were converted and devoted their life to teaching Buddhism. The wealthy man consecrated the Kannon statuette in a small temple in what is now know as Asakusa Shrine. These three men are recognized as the founders of Asakusa and are revered as deities (Gods). The Sanja Matsuri is one of the three greatest matsuri (festivals) in Tokyo and is celebrated annually over the third weekend of May.

May 16th - Approximately 1,000 participants in traditional attire will parade down Nakamise-dori Street to Asakusa Shrine from 1 PM to 3:30 PM. Floats carrying musicians playing flutes and beating drums, people dressed as traditional artisans and traditional dancers are just some of the sights that you will see in this parade. You might even catch a Geisha or two?

May 17th & 18th - At 11 AM over 100 Mikoshi (portable shrines) from the various districts within Asakusa will start parading around the area.

A word of caution, approximately 1.5 million people will attend this event over the weekend so it will be crowded!

To attend the Sanja Matsuri take the subway to Asakusa Station. Follow the signs to Kaminarimon Gate.

 

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Greenery Day used to be celebrated on April 29, but since 2007 the date was moved to May 4. It is one of the days that makes up the holiday period of Golden Week in Japan. If you're visiting Tokyo during this time, make sure you are prepared for crowded places and fully booked hotels! Our advice - plan ahead and you'll be fine.

Midori no Hi

In Japanese, "midori" means green and "hi" is day. Midori no Hi, as you might expect, celebrates all things green! Parks and gardens in Tokyo are worth a visit as there are often local events taking place to honor nature and, in selected areas, trees are planted to commemorate this event.

The term "green" is often associated with environmental issues these days and this is also the case on Greenery Day. There are initiatives to clean up local areas including parks, beach areas, and so on. Don't be surprised if you see a group of people madly sweeping, polishing and otherwise employed to bring the sparkle back to a particular spot. In my opinion, it's a great idea!

 

History of Greenery Day

From 1989 until 2007, Midori no Hi was celebrated on April 29. Here's the story behind it...

We already mentioned on our Tenno no Tanjobi page that, whoever is the current Emperor of Japan, their birthday becomes a national holiday. When Emperor Hirohito was alive, this day was April 29 and known as Showa no Hi. With his death in January 1989, it was decided to keep this day as a national holiday in memory of his contributions to Japan.

Hirohito was, himself, a big fan of environmental and green issues. During his early years as Emperor, he was responsible for the construction of a biological laboratory at Akasaka Palace along with the establishment of the Imperial Biological Research Institute. He constantly promoted research in the field of biology, with a particular interest in marine biology, and has been credited as the author of a number of books. It was decided to honor his interest in this area of study by naming the national holiday Midori no Hi.

In 2007, the ruling government decided to reinstute the name of this particular national holiday (April 29) to Showa no Hi to pay respect to Hirohito. Greenery Day was moved to its current spot on the calendar of May 4.

 

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